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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Piano Bench Complete!

One project off the list.

I completed my new piano bench last night and I am completely thrilled with how it turned out. I made it from scratch!!!! If you missed my original post stating the reasons why I wanted to change the bench and some inspirational photos you can see that here.

Here is the original bench that I found out my dad did not make (just fixed multiple times), but my mom did do the needlepoint on top.

If you want to find out how

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Click on Read More for all the details.

First off I selected 6 2x4's from my stack in the garage and headed out to my dad's shop with them to cut them on the table saw. I was originally making an x-bench that I would upholster so I cut my 2x4's on a 22.5 degree angle at the top and bottom so once put together they would be flat on the top for the seat to go on and would sit level on the ground. Then I notched those 2x4 at a 45 degree angle halfway through each board so once they were put together where the x intersected it would be flush. I did this by lowering the blade on the table saw andm aking multiple cuts until I had the notches cut.

Then I glued the boards together to for an 'x'. I made two 'x's. One for each side of the bench.

For the seat part I took one of the two boards I had picked up at the salvage center and cut it down to size 24" and glued two together to form a wider bench seat. Mine is 14".

Here is my bench put together. I added two short support brackets right at the top to screw the legs and the bench into, and a long one at the intersection of the 'x' for added stability.

Then I filled and sanded any holes so there wouldn't be any indentations in the upholstery once it was applied.

Using spray adhesive I glued two pieces of foam I had on hand together, and then glued them to my bench top.

I trimmed the corners with scissors to give my corners a more rounded look.

Then I covered the whole cushion top with another layer of batting to help smooth off any edges.﻿

Applying the Upholstery:

I almost quit at this point because at first it seemed that no matter how I mapped things out my 1.5 meters of bargain fabric was not going to be enough. I even went back to the store to see if I could find anymore but no luck. I left it for a couple days and went back to it and finally figured with very careful measuring I might be able to make it work. I also figured I had nothing to lose by going forward (except maybe the $10 I spent on the fabric). So I cut out the rectangle to cover my top leaving an extra inch all around for stapling.

I drew out my corner and sewed the two lines together. This took a couple tries to get it to lie just right.

Once I had the curve right I used tracing paper to draw my pattern for the other three corners and sewed them as well.

Here I tested the corner with my fabric inside out to make sure it was right. Doing it inside out made it easier for me to draw right on the fabric any adjustments needed.

Then I stapled down my new seat cover starting from the sides and leaving the corners to the last.

I simply pushed one side under and folded the other side over top to create a mitered corner and stapled away.

My new bench seat.

Then came the more challenging part.

I cut out 4 rectangles to cover my 'x'. Pinned it on.

And careful traced around my 'x' and cut it out leaving about 1/8" for seam allowances. (I didn't have extra material and I didn't want bulky seams.)

Then I made 1 3/4" strips to create the edge.

Sew an edge strip to each side of the 'x' and test your fit.

This is where I changed my 'x' design. I pinned my fabric up and discovered I liked the way it looked and the 'x' might make it too busy.

So I cut out 4 triangles in glued them in the little voids.

Then I sewed my back 'x' fabric to my edges to create my form. You will notice I marked my center line on this piece and my support piece. I cut down the center line and support bracket so that I could wrap my fabric.

Here it is pinned on again to make sure that it will wrap around properly.

These are the products I used to glue on my fabric.

Gorilla Super Glue for all the hard to glue areas and where I joined my cut lines. Spray Adhesive for all the surface areas.

I started by spraying the outside surface and the edges, and pressed my fabric firmly on.

Then I sprayed the inside and used the Gorilla Super Glue to hold together my cut lines.

Repeat all these steps for your other 'x'. Then I simply wrapped my support beam and stapled on the bottom.

Then I sewed the edges on a piece of lining and used the spray adhesive to glue the lining down covering my staples. I also used the Gorilla glue to give the edge and extra strong hold.

Then using a few scraps I made a long strip to fold and use as piping to cover my nail holes on the outside edge. I hot glued this on.

The finished edge.

ENJOY!

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A close-up of my joined cut edges.

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The rounded corners.

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A Breakdown of the costs and materials used:

6 - 2x4's that were 30" long in length (stacked in garage) - cost $0

1 - 2x10 plank that was 52" long cut down to 2 - 24" - cost - $2 picked up from the local salvage center

1.5 m fauz alligator fabric - cost $10 from a bargain bin

foam scraps to form 14" x 24" top - cost $0 (leftovers from another project)

Love it! It turned out so *rad*! I think the alligator is so unexpected, yet wonderfully refined and modern...you hit the nail on the head...literally and figuratively...(c; why does "figuratively" look so weird spelled out??? (it's right, I googled it (c:)